SPACE CREATURES Complete Set (Diener Industries, 1980)

 

This is an awesome set of vintage figures that I've always wanted to track down...and finally did!  This is the SPACE CREATURES line, made by Diener Industries.  These little guys are about the size of M.U.S.C.L.E. or other such figures, and yet pre-date them by several years! Around 1979 or so, these began appearing in the form of erasers (sold in packs of 2), but in 1980, something magical happened, and these hard-plastic versions were the featured prize in a McDonald's Happy Meal! (Get your brain around this--you have to think back to a non-corporately-over-saturated time, where McDonald's was thrilled to find a willing theme to include in their Happy Meals, rather than conglomerate-mandated-mega-movie-tie-in-of-the-week.  Random, no-brand toys actually showed up in kids' meals and cereal boxes.  It was a better time.) There were 8 in all, available in 5 different colors!

Interestingly, lots of these figures' designs were simply "borrowed" from vintage science fiction films and TV shows, and a couple were pretty much "inspired" by them.  They are pretty awesome, and the sculpts are great.  So let's take a closer look!

1.  "Veined Cranium Creature"

You know this one--it's the extremely recognizable cabbage-headed alien design from INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN.  I have actually owned the bright green one for years, which I found in a lot long ago.  Strangely, it doesn't match the five colors the McDonald's figures came in, but it's made of equally-firm material....unless it's an eraser that's petrified, but that can't be right.

2.  "Tree Trunk Monster"

Here is another familiar 1950's design, from the very odd I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE!

3.  "Gill Face Creature"

I knew this one was from THE OUTER LIMITS television show, but I admit I had to look up the specific episode, which is called "Keeper Of The Purple Twilight." Some websites list this figure as "Gil" instead of "Gill," but I am assuming it is the latter, since you know, he actually has gills.

4.  "Lizard Man"

This one is inspired by the Ymir from 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, even down to the stance.

5.  "Insectman"

This one is probably the most original design that we have looked at yet.  There is definitely some of THE FLY in here, but that's not all that's going on.

6.  "Vampire Bat Creature"

Here is another cool one.  I have seen sites mention how close this is to the "Man-Bat" DC Comics character--and he does of course look like that--but this blog being, well, you know, this blog, I want to say he is one of the Bat Men from LATITUDE ZERO.  I know, no chance...but it's a cool idea.

My figure also has some weird leftovers that didn't get trimmed from the mold!

7.  "Winged Amphibian Creature"

I will admit that this one looked familiar to me, until I read that it's the creature from the wonky DESTINATION INNER SPACE!

8.  "Horned Cyclops"

And then we have this guy.  There are lots of cyclopses in fiction, but not too many are hairy.  I thought of the LOST IN SPACE one, and some sites suggest others, but then I see the reverse and GYYYAAAHHHH my eyes can't unsee the prominent posterior on this guy! Cyclops got BACK!

This is one of those quality sets of figures that they just don't make anymore.  I'm sure they have been copied and spammed in gumball machines and the like for decades, and are probably still out there in some form or fasion, but these were the real deal.  I'm glad I never had any of the eraser versions as a kid, because there was no way I could've used them for that purpose!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE DEPARTMENT:

Here are a few older-but-excellent blog posts with more photos and info on these great figures! One even shows the original Happy Meal box that these figures came in!

Little Weirdos - "Diener Space Creatures Revisited"
  

Neato Coolville - "Diener Space Creatures/Aliens"    

Retro Erasers - "Monsters & Outer Space"

ULTRAMAN TARO: GREAT MONSTER THE 30 (Bandai, 1991)

 

Here is an item that took me by surprise.  You may recall that we reviewed both the ULTRAMAN and ULTRASEVEN "Great Monster the 30" figure sets, a while back, but I didn't know this existed!

So these are 30-figure sets that are basically "keshi," a category of soft rubber, gashapon-type Japanese figures (sometimes even including erasers). Each set includes the hero Ultra, and 29 kaiju from his series.

To American eyes, these are highly reminiscent of the awesome M.U.S.C.L.E. 28-packs that we had over here (and hey, those were connected to Bandai too, so there you go):

Back to our set at hand, here is the back of the box:

While the previous two sets included a die and a colorful game board, enabling you to play a board game with the figures (because Japan), this one does not, and instead gives you a heavy sheet of die-cut labels:

Interestingly, there isn't very much "Taro" content in the stickers...in fact, all of the kaiju pictured are from other shows.  There is good reason for this, because by this point in the lineage, the shows were beginning to show some fatigue, and the enemy designs were starting to suffer.  There were still some high points, but some were just forgettable. Lots of feathers and dangly things.

Here are the contents of the set.  How many can you name? The answer for me is, "precious few." And I will admit it!

After puzzling over these, I went to the booklet for the blu-rays, and then realized lots of the spellings are pretty knackered up, so I resorted to correcting as many of these as I could via online sources...so here are the names:

So my main take-away from this is:  does this mean there is a RETURN OF ULTRAMAN set (Jack, that is) that exists somewhere? If so, sign me up.  The first three shows were the best. It makes me wonder how many of the classic shows had sets in this line.  It's extremely hard to find any information online about these, but I am digging away.

As you can probably tell, I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the last few classic Ultra shows.  They tend to be hit-and-miss sometimes.  With Taro, it seems like he is always having to be rescued by his mama. I was still very happy to discover this one, though.  I will always take more classic Ultra!

Godzilla DOOM ISLAND Spacegodzilla (and carded figures) Trendmasters, 1997

 

I recently added this beauty to my collection, completing my set of carded DOOM ISLAND action figures (which is what Trendmasters referred to as "6-inch action figures," even though they are really closer to 5).  

If you don't know the story, DOOM ISLAND was the third and final Godzilla line made by Trendmasters, which unfortunately was cancelled before it could be completely realized. What was finished was never officially sold in the United States, as retailers like Wal-Mart simply passed on the line, signaling that the Trendmasters Godzilla line had run its course.  It's too bad, because the premise of the line was incredible: Godzilla and friends fighting dinosaurs!

Six carded figures were produced and packaged, which was good and bad--on the one hand, they were the sculpts we had seen previously,  in the KING OF THE MONSTERS and GODZILLA WARS lines...and now with no option for sound...but on the other, all of them were now improved with different paint, and accentuated by a dark wash, which made them look super-cool. (The two Godzillas still retained their battery-powered "Atomic Plasma Eyes," though.)

Here is a high-resolution scan of the backing card, which shows lots of amazing entries in this line, both made and unmade (some of these exist only as prototypes):

We have taken in-depth looks at the four "Battle Armor" figures on this site before, which you can view here:

Battle Armor Godzilla

Battle Armor Kumonga

Battle Armor Mecha King Ghidorah

Battle Armor Anguirus

Back to the six carded figures, they were: Godzilla, Supercharged Godzilla, Baragon, Megalon, Varan, and Spacegodzilla.  For some reason, you will see an occasional Doom Island Godzilla appear for sale, but the others are very hard to come by--especially Varan and SpaceG!

I had custom acrylic cases built for mine, so I could hang them on the wall:

If you want to know lots more about the DOOM ISLAND line, check out our Guide to Trendmasters Godzilla Products 1994-97, where you can see concept art, prototypes, and much more!

Movie Monsters Figures (Palmer, c.1964)

 

Let's start October off right, by taking a look at some classic, vintage monster toys! These awesome figures were made by Palmer Plastics around 1964 (some sources say the date is unknown, while some state 1964 as the year they were made--there are no markings or years on any of them), and they stand about 3 inches tall.  These are what some people call "dimestore" toys, but they were also sold in packs of 10, which we will see in a moment.  They were available in red, yellow, green, and even a rare blue color, which is the hardest to find.  Somehow, all of mine are the red and yellow varieties (red on yellow, kill a fellow), but I'm planning to acquire some examples of the other colors next.

 

Here is a look at each figure; there are some surprising choices in this set!

Dracula - This one works pretty well, and you know right away who it is. He kind of has a Count Chocula stance!

Cyclops - This one is a curve ball--this is actually Ray Harryhausen's Cyclops from 1958's THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD! I didn't see that coming.  Of course, there is rather a scale problem here, but the coolness makes up for it.

Frankenstein('s Monster) - This one works very well, and is a lot of fun.  Imagine a world where the first Universal movie was titled FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER, and maybe everyone would be referring to the creature by the correct name, all these years later.

King Kong - Here is one of my very favorites.  This is such a well-done figure.  Lots of people don't know this, but this figure actually came with a tiny Fay Wray, who was attached by a sprue when you purchased Kong. You can actually put her in his hand! But, as you would imagine, she was very easily lost....and as a result, a complete figure can be several hundred dollars.  Still, though, I gotta get me one of those someday:

Werewolf - To me, this is one of the least-effectively-executed sculpts in this line, because it's not super easy to tell what's going on.  At first glance it looks like an old-fashioned zombie.  It also reminds me of Bela's Ygor with the broken neck in GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN! However, the name given on the multi-pack is "Werewolf," so that is the final answer.  

It! The Terror From Beyond Space - On the header card for the 10-pack of figures, this figure is called "It Came From Outer Space," which is the wrong movie (which was 3-D and from 1953).  This is actually the alien from IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (which I believe is a Martian?), from 1958, which lots of people cite as the blueprint for ALIEN, etc.  Another unusual choice for this line!

Gorgo - YES! Freaking GORGO! Well, let's be fair, this could also be an Ogra figure (his mama)....but the package says Gorgo.  Somehow, the title monster from this 1961 British attempt at a kaiju film was included in this great line.  This is my favorite figure in this set.  I am a gargantuan GORGO fan and even own the original one-sheet poster.  (I will also be the first to admit to you that, in the interest of fairness, the movie has too much reliance on military stock footage, which does bog it down...but otherwise it is a damn fine movie, and I will cut a man who says otherwise.) Sorry, I got a little carried away, there...come to think of it, I need to get this figure in green.

Creature From The Black Lagoon - This is another one that is hard to see, at a glance...it almost looks skeletal, but when you zoom in, it dawns on you what's going on (this one would also work better in green).  

This is a spectacular set of figures, with loads of personality and charm...and oddly enough, NO Mummy to be seen anywhere!  I do wish there could have been a second series.  That would've been fun.

Lastly, here is the photo of an unopened 10-pack that goes around (I think it came from Pinterest, but I do not know the origin of this photo, or I would give the appropriate credit--it's not mine):

One thing to point out is that technically, the proper name of these figures should probably be "Unbreakable Movie Monsters"...? 

Also, check out the artwork on the header card, showing a groovy Frankenstein's monster leading Gorgo around on a chain! 

One last thing that jumps out at me.....is that you could buy 10 of these for 98 cents! What a deal!

SHOGUN WARRIORS GODZILLA Instruction Sheet Variations (Mattel, 1978- )

 

Quite simply the greatest toy ever made--or very close to it--Mattel's giant Shogun Warriors Godzilla enjoyed a few years on store shelves and in Christmas catalogs, alongside the rest of the Shogun Warriors line.  Because of this, there are at least three variations to the included (and very rare) instruction sheet!

Let's look at these in the order I have put them in, and I will explain why as we go:

Version 1 (front)  Measures 7.25 by 5.5 inches, and has artwork of Godzilla from the waist up, facing the left.  You will notice there is no blurb for the Godzilla Game, which tells me it wasn't quite released yet.

Version 1 (back)  On the reverse, we have Raydeen, Great Mazinga, and Dragun. Fine print says "PRINTED IN JAPAN," which tracks, because the first version of the Shogun Warriors Godzilla was produced in Japan for Mattel.

Version 2 (front)  For some reason, the next instruction sheet is a full-sized page, at 8.5 x 11 inches.  Now Godzilla's artwork has been changed to a full-body image (adding tail instructions), with him facing the right.  There is also now a box promoting the awesome Godzilla Game, so the Warranty information has been moved to the left side.

Version 2 (back)  The back of the sheet looks unchanged, except for the fine print, which now says "PRINTED IN U.S.A."

Version 3 (front)  Now the size of the sheet has reverted back to 7.25 x 5.5 inches.  The front looks identical to Version 2.

Version 3 (back)  The reverse side is where we see new information:  Daimos has been added to the line-up, in place of Dragun.  This figure was the last addition to the line in America, and was added in 1979, so it makes sense that this version would come last, chronologically.

Now, is it possible there is a fourth iteration out there, somewhere? One thing I have learned over years of collecting is, anything is possible...so if something turns up, it will be included here, and added to our Godzilla Guide as well!

CLASH OF THE MOVIE MONSTERS (Imperial Toys, 1987)

 

In a sense, this landed in exactly the right month of the year, but like I repeat on this blog all the time--and like I tell people all the time: monsters are for every day.

Here we have a mega-rare boxed set of action figures made by Imperial Toys, where they cleverly took four of their existing products and combined them into a new one.  Obviously, the biggest rarity here is the box itself, so let's look at that first...and it does NOT disappoint.  There's a lot to unpack here:

First, let's enjoy the front of the box, where Frankenstein's monster grapples with Count Dracula, while in the background, Godzilla and King Kong rampage.  Don't miss the middle, however, where a damsel in distress is tied to a phone booth.  Yes, the outside of the phone booth.  It's amazing.

"Right away," you are thinking, "we have a scale problem." And they do their best to hide it in the photo here, but we will return to that in a moment.  Of course, if we are being fair, these figures were meant for kids to bury in the sandbox and take on all kinds of rough and tumble adventures, rather than to be displayed as works of art. S.H. Monsterarts they aren't.

I'll get emotional if we dwell on this price tag too long...but you got all four for NINE BUCKS?!?!

One more photo before we dive in.  Are you noticing any discrepancies?

Before we go any further, I'm not looking at the Godzilla alone because we have covered this figure thoroughly.  To see everything you wanted to know about the 6-inch Imperial Godzilla figure, go to this post!

Frankenstein('s monster) is a big lug, nearly 8 inches tall, with arms that can reach his kneecaps, ending in huge, red-veined hands.  

He, like everyone else, is solid and has a chunky, substantial feel.  Also, he just wants to be loved.

King Kong is, really, perfectly done.  He has a real presence about him and looks a lot like the original in the face.  I know later, in the 1990's, Imperial made a version of this figure with a red button on his chest, allowing for roaring and snorting, and the green eyes lighting up! It was cool.

Dracula is, oddly, the biggest of the lot, at a full 8 inches tall (remember, these guys were originally made separately from each other), and is also the heaviest, because the cape is solidly and thickly molded contiguous with the body as one piece.  This can make standing very difficult.  The main problem with him (besides the likeness, but nobody could legally use Lugosi's face back then) is his arms.  They move up--in a permanent "I'm playing the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" pose--but not down, again because of the cape.  It's frustrating.

Okay, now we are back to the interesting size problem...which bothered no kid ever, of course. The Godzilla figure was first made in 1985 (I think the others figures are dated 1986, but Kong has no date at all I believe), so they were obviously never meant to really go together.  All of these figures were sold loose as well as carded versions--for the Godzilla, the carded version came later, in 1992 to be precise, so maybe that's true for the others, too. Here they are all together:

When everyone's in a line-up, it's pretty telling, but like I said, this would've stopped no kid ever from playing with these, and that's because these guys are nothing short of awesome.  Their chunkiness gives them charm to us, now, but held up to rugged play, back then. 

You may also be thinking: "How in the world do all of those guys fit into that small box?"  And the answer is....just barely!